“Someone” Remade

Posted by John on July 3, 2012
Posted in: concerts, singles, upcoming, youtube. Tagged: , , . 1 Comment

For about as long as there has been a pop chart and a country chart, well-written songs have found success on both. Whether it is Patsy Cline taking “Walking After Midnight” to number two on the US Country chart and number 12 on the Pop chart in 1957, or it is dueling versions of the same song by different artists (see “I Swear,” “I Can Love You Like That,” “How Do I Live,” “Back at One,” and of course “I Will Always Love You”), a great song is a great song no matter how much twang you sing it with. We probably should have seen an Adele cover coming from Nashville, but I did not expect to see THIS version:

When I saw that David Nail had recorded a version of “Someone Like You” and was releasing it on an EP, I was nervous. David is an amazing singer and is refreshing in the way he avoids a lot of the Country music clichés, but I didn’t know what his intentions were. Turns out that Nail uses the song to warm up before shows and only recorded the above video for acquaintances who wanted to revisit his powerful interpretation. A video lead to a posting on Vevo, which lead to fans demanding a studio version of the song. Fortunately, David’s record company MCA Nashville decided to play along, scheduling the song for an EP called 1979 that will be released on July 17th.

For those of you not familiar with David Nail, please believe me when I say he’s the real deal. He’s been at the music game for over a decade, but scored his first major hit in 2008 with “Red Light,” which went top 10 on the Country chart and even reached the middle region of the Billboard Hot 100. His biggest hit to date came last year with “Let It Rain,” which went to number one and cemented his status as one to watch. I saw him open for Lady Antebellum on their Need You Now tour in 2010, and he quickly won over an audience who primarily had no idea who he was. In fact, he was so good that he made a band on their first headlining tour look downright amateurish. The one thing I remembered about David Nail’s set is that he did not resort to a lot of covers like other acts do (including Lady Antebellum). He owned that audience simply by playing his own music and playing it well. Any success and respect this guy gets is well-deserved.

I See As I Say

Posted by John on May 16, 2012
Posted in: songs, youtube. Tagged: , , . 1 Comment

Okay…you know the drill. Watch the video and take notes. There will be a quiz.

Yes, it’s a Late Late Show promo for a week of host Craig Ferguson returning home to Scotland with his talk show in tow. There is a lot of Scottish scenery, goofy dancing and mugging for the camera, but if you know me, it’s the music that caught my attention. “Imagineer” is from a Scottish band called (suprise) the Imagineers, and they were chosen by Ferguson to appear on the show based on the criteria that he would have wanted to be in a band like this back in his years as an amateur drummer.

With the huge success of Mumford and Sons over the past two years in the US, it isn’t hard to imagine a song like “Imagineer” catching on, and having a late-night talk show playing your song over and over won’t hurt either. The episodes started airing on Monday May 14th and continue through the 18th. In addition to their self-titled song, they are also performing other songs on the show, including their take on the show’s theme song. For a taste of the Imagineers in action, check out the live video below.

Like It’s the Best Night of My Life

Posted by John on April 22, 2012
Posted in: american idol, singles, upcoming. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

I have a history for liking male pop artists that got their start on American Idol. Elliot Yamin, Blake Lewis and (most importantly) Chris Richardson have all made their mark on the pop charts post-Idol to some degree, but none of them have had what you’d call a superstar career. Chris Rich may be on his way to the next level via Young Money, but that remains to be seen (check back in about a week or so for more on that). In the meantime, it’s time to welcome Stefano Langone to the club. His initial hook on the show was his soulful vocals (especially his cover of Smokie Norful’s “I Need You Now“), but he made his mark on the semi-finals with a remixed version of Stevie Wonder’s classic “Lately.”

While making it to seventh on American Idol is nothing to sneeze at, it sure isn’t a guarantee of a recording contract. In fact, of the ten previous 7th place finishers, only Academy Award-winning Jennifer Hudson has had any enduring success in the music business. However, season 11 was different. When Pia Toscano was unexpectedly eliminated after Top Nine Week, Interscope Records quickly put out a press release saying that her signing was inevitable, showing the equation for signing Idol artists would be a little different now that Jimmy Iovine was directly involved in the show. So when an announcement was made in January 2012 that Stefano was signed to Hollywood Records, no one was really surprised. Fast forward three months later, and here is the initial offering from Stefano Langone:

Full disclosure: The first time I heard “I’m On a Roll,” I didn’t know what to make of it. I expected something slightly more R&B than pop, but after a few listens, the song is now stuck in my head. The lyrics aren’t going to set the world on fire, but the song is fun and it fits right in with what is getting airplay in the US right now. If this is the direction he planned on going, he’s made a pretty brilliant play for pop success, even bringing along in-demand rappers the New Boyz for the ride. However, I believe Stefano may be setting himself up for getting a foot in the door so his more soulful vocals and writing can get to a wider audience. That in itself makes rooting for “I’m On a Roll” to be a success even easier to do.

Stefano Langone’s “I’m On a Roll” comes out on April 24th in the US, and he will perform the song for the first time on American Idol on the 26th.

You Better Move Over

Posted by John on April 19, 2012
Posted in: reviews, singles, upcoming. Tagged: , . 1 Comment

It has been a year and a half in the making, but the wait has been worth it. World, meet Aiden Grimshaw:

As I type this, I realize many already know who Aiden is. He appeared on the 2010 edition of The X Factor UK, and was a surprise elimination early in the semi-finals, leaving before lesser competitors like Paije Richardson and Katie Waissel. The fact that Waissel was saved over Grimshaw was a glaring reminder that while talent competitions need talent, they also need drama. No matter. As of today, Aiden is in a much better place than Katie, as his first single for RCA Records (UK) is unleashed upon the world. “Is This Love” (out 3 June in the UK) finds Grimshaw in his element, matching his angsty yet ethereal vocals against a drum-and-bass track that places him right in the middle of a dance-primed pop market custom-built for the track. While his US prospects might not be as solid, you never know, as Alex Clare is currently climbing the Billboard Hot 100 with “Too Close,” thanks to a Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 advert.

So rather than talk about what “Is This Love” is like, let’s talk about what it is not like: anything on Syco Music. Being ejected from the The X Factor appears to have been a blessing, as he is not saddled with the formulaic common pop track that other acts like One Direction or JLS appear to be more than happy to record. That’s not to slam them, because there’s a place in the marketplace for that, and based on sales it’s a big place. Here’s hoping that Aiden Grimshaw blazes his own trail and defies the odds stacked against X Factor alumni who don’t finish in the Top 3.

Aiden Grimshaw’s full-length debut Misty Eye arrives on 13 August via RCA Records (UK). If Misty Eye is as solid as “Is This Love”, it will be ranked among the best albums released by an artist from any talent show, not just The X Factor.

Never Had Two Hits Come True

Posted by John on April 15, 2012
Posted in: commentary, youtube. Tagged: , , . 2 Comments

Whether or not the US is in the midst of a boyband infatuation (the media would lead you to believe this), it’s interesting that the charge is lead exclusively by UK acts One Direction and The Wanted. They aren’t the first UK pop vocal groups to make a run at the top of the US charts, but in the past many of those efforts have enjoyed some initial success before fizzling out. Here are three of the more notable examples:

Westlife “Swear It Again”

Westlife really should have been bigger in the US than they ended up being. They hit the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2000 with “Swear It Again”, coming on the heels of Backstreet Boys’ and ‘NSync’s success. After that, they recorded a duet (“Against All Odds”) with Mariah Carey that helped her achieve one of her biggest hits in the UK up to that point. However, after “Swear It Again” peaked at number 20 and ended 2000 as the 75th biggest song of the year, they…disappeared. At least in the US they did: plans for their second album Coast to Coast being released in America were scrapped, and their duet with Mariah Carey was released pretty much everywhere except the US. Given the difficulty of an already-established group internationally to break the US market, it isn’t hard to imagine that the group decided to capitalize on their superstar status elsewhere.

Take That “Back For Good”

If Westlife seemed like a no-brainer to make it in America, the same might not have been said for Take That, who were a little older than the typical US boy band by the time they broke through in 1996 with “Back For Good.” In fact, they broke through in a big way, climbing all the way to number seven on the Hot 100. Unfortunately, the band started falling apart as “Good” climbed the chart, beginning with the ouster of Robbie Williams due to stress caused by his drug use and partying. I can only find a trace of one other US release (“How Deep is Your Love”) that never charted, and their sole album Nobody Else peaked at number 69 on the Billboard 200 album chart. When they reformed in 2005, it made sense that they only focused on markets where they had already been established, leaving America on the sidelines as they pursued a successful and lucrative comeback, even luring Williams back into the fold in 2010.

S Club 7 “Never Had a Dream Come True”

It seems strange to say that S Club 7 was the biggest of the three in the United States. Between two albums charting on the Billboard 200 chart and their TV show airing on Fox Family, they were not a flash in the pan, even if their fans were mostly kids. In 2001, S Club 7 released their 2000 UK charity single “Never Had a Dream Come True” in the US, becoming their biggest chart success. “Dream” reached number 10 on the Hot 100 and number two on the US singles sales chart. The band (renamed S Club after Paul Cattermole left the fold) was not able to capitalize on that success despite releasing a US-specific compilation in 2002 entitled Don’t Stop Movin’, and they broke up the following year. Even though there have been several rounds of rumors over the past few years that a reunion was inevitable, S Club has not fully reformed.

Can You Feel the Rush

Posted by John on April 9, 2012
Posted in: reviews, singles, soundcloud, upcoming. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

As a music lover, I’m all about a groove or a vibe that moves my feet, my head or my soul. Having said that, for some reason I’m biased against dance music recorded by male vocalists. It’s not that I dislike male vocalists, but much of the time I just don’t buy the male vocal on a straight-ahead dance track. That’s why some of the dance-pop music that has come out over the past two months has been so impressive to me. Here are a few tracks that are keeping my earbuds jumping:

“The Rush” – Warren Nomi

Warren Nomi’s current release for Citrusonic, “The Rush.” is a bit different from a lot of the radio-ready dance music hitting the airwaves currently, but it’s not tough to imagine “The Rush” slotting into a dance-friendly playlist. I have a good feeling about this guy: he proved in his prior incarnation as Nomi Madness that he has a great ear for a strong hook (see “Red Wine Girl“), so here’s hoping this is just the start. Nomi’s deal with Citrusonic is currently just singles, but it only takes one track to take off for an album to get the green light and this may be the song to seal the deal. You can pick up “The Rush” on iTunes and Amazon now.

“Only the Horses” – Scissor Sisters

There is always a chance when an established act goes in a more mainstream-sounding direction that the word “sellout” will be slung at them. If that’s the case, I hope the Scissor Sisters are ready, because it is going to happen to them any minute now. After a bizarre but cool hip-hop track called “Shady Love” surfaced in January, they have launched the official first single from their upcoming fourth disc Magic Hour (out 28 May in the UK, out…sometime in the rest of the world). “Only the Horses” sounds like a cross between a remix of and a sequel to Night Work‘s “Fire with Fire”, with Calvin Harris and Alex Ridha along for the ride on production. Yes, this song musically sounds like much of the current dance-pop onslaught, but at the heart of the track are well-written lyrics and a strong vocal performance from Jake Shears. If I have a complaint, it’s that Ana Matronic seems to have been lost in the shuffle of Magic Hour‘s promotion, and I’m hoping her presence will be felt once the full album drops. Give in and love this track…I already have. (Out 13 May in the UK, hopefully around that time in the US?)

“Let’s Go” – Calvin Harris featuring Ne-Yo

Speaking about Mr. Harris, he unleashes what feels like the ninth single off of his hopefully-forthcoming album in the form of “Let’s Go.” While the majority of DJ tracks feature powerful female vocalists, Harris had the right sense to bring in Ne-Yo to give the track a fresh sound, and it’s obvious from the first verse that Calvin chose well. Ne-Yo proved that he could propel a hot track back in ’08 with “Closer”, and he doesn’t stray far from that formula here. Expect this to be massive everywhere, including the US once the current single “Feels So Close” dies down a bit. (Out 22 April in the UK)

I Said I’ve Been Looking for You

Posted by John on February 22, 2012
Posted in: concerts, giveaway, singles, youtube. Tagged: . Leave a comment

A week ago, I posted on Twitter my musical wish for 2012: “I need more old-school house music in my life. That is all.” Well, turns out Sam Sparro heard my plea. (Humor me)

First off, can I get an Amen? How about a Hallelujah? Sam is taking it to CHURCH!

That wasn’t very professional blog writing, I know. But if you don’t feel uplifted and able to take on the world after listening to this record, you are either tone-deaf or you are without a heartbeat. It opens with a killer House piano riff, then leaps into full-on funk mode. You don’t know if it’s House, Funk or Disco, but it’s all good. Combine “Happiness” with teaser track “Shallow End,” and you will know why Return to Paradise is one of my most-anticipated discs of 2012. On top of that, Sam is hitting the road for a mini-tour in April, and tickets are only $15 here in the US. I am currently debating which city I will travel to, but I WILL see him on this tour. If you’d like to check him out, Sam is offering tickets up for liking his page and sharing the link. More details here.

PopMusicNotes’ Top Pop Singles of 2011

Posted by John on January 2, 2012
Posted in: singles, year-end. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

After a year where much of my attention was diverted in other directions, I still have something to say about the singles that kept infecting my brain throughout 2011. I have been saying for a couple of years that it was a matter of time until dance music returned to the mainstream, and 2011 made that official. This list is very American, and a bit more mainstream pop than I normally go, but that’s just where my head was this year. As always, a few points of clarification:
– Songs had to have been released (or re-released) in 2011
– While I limit artists to one track per year, Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson and Robyn all make a second appearance due to being a featured artist
– Chart position listed is for the Billboard Hot 100 peak position unless otherwise noted

25. What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)/Kelly Clarkson (US #64 to date) – While the record label was promoting “Mr Know It All” prior to the release of Kelly’s Stronger CD, a leak of “What Doesn’t Kill You” hit the Internet, and it was all over with. Bloggers lost their minds, complaining that this should have been the lead single instead of good-but-not-great track “Mr Know It All.” Then again, that “horrible” lead single ended up going Top 10. “What Doesn’t Kill You” should follow its predecessor into the upper reaches of the Hot 100 with a killer hook and a driving beat after the holidays pass as long as her Ron Paul endorsement doesn’t cause her any backlash.

24. We Found Love/Rihanna (US #1) – Rihanna was pumping out singles this year faster than rabbits have babies, but there’s no doubt that “We Found Love” was the best of all those tracks. Pairing her with Calvin Harris originally seemed like a gimmick, but the combo worked better than most would have guessed, and it’s probably not hard to imagine Calvin now having a similar career in the US as David Guetta now has, with superstar guest vocalists coming out of the woodwork to appear on a hit single. Besides, the musical phrase of the year goes to this track for the chorus “we found love in a hopeless place.” Good luck getting the song out of your head.

23. Don’t Kick the Chair/Dia Frampton feat Kid Cudi (Not Charted) – While most people were talking about the judges on The Voice, there was still a singing competition going on with some solid talent competing for the initial season’s title. Dia Frampton released “The Broken Ones” as her official debut single after coming in second on The Voice, but the label teased “Don’t Kick the Chair” prior to the release of Red and I was instantly hooked. The title refers to a phrase Frampton uses to say “stop your complaining,” and I took that to heart. It probably doesn’t hurt that Dia has some experience recording thanks to her sisterly duo Meg and Dia, but Red is a solid album that American Idol probably wishes they could get their winners to record.

22. The Living Proof/Mary J Blige (Not Charted) – One of my favorite Mary J. Blige songs is “Not Gonna Cry,” which appeared on the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack. That song was just as powerful as a stand-alone song as it was for the moment it represented in the movie. “The Living Proof” did the same thing for 2011’s feel-good movie “The Help,” and showed once again that Mary does subtle just as well as she does over-the-top emotion.

21. Til Death – Wynter Gordon (US Dance #3) – Wynter Gordon was the dance diva rookie of the year with her album With the Music I Die. While you might know her voice from singing the hook on Flo Rida’s “Sugar,” she came into her own in 2011, placing three singles into the US Dance charts top five, including the #2 hit “Til Death.” With the right single and label push, Wynter could be ripe for crossover success, and “Til Death” might be the song to do it.

20. Storm Warning/Hunter Hayes (US #84, Country #15 to date) – He sings, he plays, he writes, he makes a killer cappuccino! Well, I have no proof of the final item, but you can hear all of the other items on his major-label self-titled CD, as well as on his first hit single. Hunter takes the best elements of pop-country music and makes them his own without it sounding calculated or cheesy. As we already noted, Hayes is well on his way to assuming the niche created by the likes of Bryan White and Rascal Flatts.

19. I Got You/Martha Wash (Not Charted) – The producers of American Idol have more often than not provided their champions with some seriously lightweight songs as their debut singles, but more often than not those songs are quickly overshadowed by legitimate hits. If they really want to find a solid song that captures that confetti moment at the end of the season, they couldn’t do much better than Martha Wash’s “I’ve Got You,” which felt like a coronation song to me the first time I heard it. Martha’s still got the pipes, but she found an empowering ballad that helps show a softer side I haven’t heard since her version of “Someone Who Believes In You” from the early 90s.

18. Moves Like Jagger/Maroon 5 feat Christina Aguilera (US #1) – I sat and watched the initial performance of “Moves Like Jagger” on The Voice in June, and I thought it was a joke. The subject matter, the whistle, the outfits…I thought it was a hot mess. Someone must have thought it was stellar, though, because it instantly went to #1 on iTunes. Airplay soon followed, and then once the visual spectacle was removed from the equation, I started to like the song. And then, I began to love the song. It was worming its way into my head, but I really didn’t care. Even Christina’s vamping on the final chorus was enjoyable. Maroon 5 needed a boost after the last few singles flopped, so it’s been good to see them stretch musically and be rewarded for taking a chance.

17. Put Your Hands Up/Kylie Minogue (US Dance #1) – When Aphrodite came out in 2010, I was taken with the album from start to finish, with the exception of “Better Than Today,” which I still dislike to this day. “Put Your Hands Up” was a joyous romp in the middle of the album, but I thought it would remain an album cut. Enter Pete Hammond, who remixed “Hands” to sound like something from Kylie’s SAW days, and the song ended up becoming Kylie’s fifth #1 in a row on the US Dance chart.

16. Heaven/Emeli Sandé (Not Charted) – Does R&B need a new Queen? If so, Emeli Sandé may be the woman to fill the gap. With its “Funky Drummer” beat propelling it along, “Heaven” feels like a throwback to some of the best dance records of the 90s, but with a deeper soul thanks to Sandé’s passionate plea. “Heaven” soared onto the UK charts, along with feature spots on Top 10 records by Professor Green, Wiley and Chipmunk. Emeli’s album Our Version of Events arrives in the UK on February 13, and the US release should be in June.

15. I Wrote the Book/Beth Ditto (Not Charted) – If you had told me in 2010 that Beth Ditto would release a full-fledged house track in 2011, I would have laughed and said “I WISH!” Fortunately for me and all her fans, that wish was granted in the form of “I Wrote the Book,” which appeared on a four-track EP released in early 2011. Proving she doesn’t have to sing pop punk to be fierce, Beth made the dance diva transition with ease. Extra points for the amazing video that paid tribute to Madonna’s “Justify My Love” while still maintaining her own personality. Next thing you know, a Gossip song will be used in a perfume commercial. Oh wait…

14. Never Will Be Mine/Rye Rye feat Robyn (Not Charted) – In a year where one of the biggest rappers was the larger-than-life Nicki Minaj, it was a great counterpoint to hear a rapper with the lyrical skills of Rye Rye get down to the basic task of using rap to tell a story and set a mood. She succeeded in spades with “Never Will Be Mine,” whose chorus was built around Robyn’s “Be Mine.” In fact, Robyn sang the hook and appeared in the video, leading to another round of “Robyn might get a hit in the US” hope. Alas, we found disappointment in a hopeful place, but Rye Rye’s full-length album should drop sometime in 2012.

13. Bright Lights Bigger City/Cee-Lo (Not Charted) – When Cee-Lo became half of Gnarls Barkley, no one ever anticipated that the group would have a hit as major as “Crazy” was, but that turned out to be the only hit the group had off of their two albums. Fast forward five years, and history repeated itself as “Bright Lights Bigger City” failed to capitalize on the protracted success of “F**k You.” Despite performing the song on multiple shows (including his own The Voice), the song never caught on in the US and never made an appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, even after Wiz Khalifa was added on to a remix version. “Bright Lights” became my going out on Friday/Saturday night song, as well as one of my favorite remixes of the year courtesy of the Shapeshifters.

12. Good Life/OneRepublic (US #8) – So here’s a rarity in the music business: an album released in 2009 saw its biggest hit occur in 2011. While artists like Rihanna and Britney Spears turn out new albums before the last record is fully over, OneRepublic slowly but steadily released quality single after quality single. In the US, they dropped “All the Right Moves” in 2009, “Secrets” in 2010, and then “Good Life” in 2011, and the track became the biggest record in four years for the Colorado-based band. While the song itself is an uplifting, midtempo track with a catchy hook, the downside was that it seemed to usher in a rash of whistle-featuring singles.

11. Give Me Everything/Pitbull (US #1) – Over the past few years, Pitbull has been the go-to guy for pop artists looking to add a hip-hop vibe to their single releases, helping out the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias. Even though he’s scored top 10 records on his own, Pitbull decided to follow that model, enlisting Ne-Yo, Nayer and Afrojack for the first #1 pop hit of his career with “Give Me Everything.” While Pit’s flow was on point as always, Ne-Yo’s vocals soared on the chorus, propelling the track on radios around the world and ending up as the most-played song on the radio in the US in 2011.

10. Rumour Has It/Someone Like You/Glee Cast (US #11) – So there were three Adele singles in 2011 that were released, and all were worthy of inclusion. Well, I get to include two of the three thanks to this brilliant mash-up from the third season of Glee. While I’m not a fan of the show, it is hard to deny that their interpretations of current songs are occasionally worthy of hitting the pop charts, and “Rumour Has It/Someone Like You” fits that bill. The way the two songs are woven together just works, and the visual of the performance just heightens the impact of the song. Both Naya Rivera and Amber Riley excel on the track, and the cast picked up their highest charting song since “Loser Like Me” reached number six in March 2011.

9. Don’t You Wanna Stay/Jason Aldean feat Kelly Clarkson (US #31, Country #1) – Every once in a while I get it right, and the first time I saw Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson sing “Don’t You Wanna Stay” together, I knew it would be a hit. A year later, and not only did the song get to #1 on the Country chart, but it also sold over a million copies and reached the Pop Top 40. You would never know that “Don’t You Wanna Stay” was written for a solo singer because Aldean and Clarkson sell it as a duet so convincingly. If Kelly ever decides to give up pop for country music, she will become one of the biggest female singers in the business instantly.

8. Come On/Will Young (Not Charted) – While much of the blogosphere has anointed Will Young’s first single from Echoes for their end-of-year lists, I am much more drawn to single number two, “Come On.” Will’s voice is perfectly suited for heartbreak, and “Come On” puts that emotion on display as he realizes his love is about to leave him. Despite fears that his career might be waning, Echoes went into the UK album chart at #1, proving that real talent can come out of music reality shows.

7. Otis – Jay-Z/Kanye West (US #12) – When Watch the Throne came out in mid-2011, I thought the second single “Otis” would be their best chance at a mainstream hit, but who could have guessed that a slot on the Victoria’s Secret would launch an unlikely track like “Ni**as in Paris” into the Billboard Hot 100 top five? Based on an extended sample of Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness,” I still grin listening to these two master MCs brag on their skills while demonstrating why they can do just that. This is some serious rappers’ delight.

6. Call Your Girlfriend/Robyn (Not Charted) – I continue to be frustrated by the way the US remains shut to Robyn’s music. Not even an opening slot on Katy Perry’s tour or an appearance on Saturday Night Live in December could get this song to chart, although it did surface on the iTunes charts for a hot minute. Robyn needs just one solid break, and then I am positive every single released over the past six years could be released in the States to sell millions of copies and dominate the radio. That would be justice. This final salvo from the Body Talk trilogy was pure pop abandon…being the other woman has never sounded so reasonable.

5. Super Bass/Nicki Minaj (US #3) – If you had asked me mid-year what track of Nicki’s would be on my year-end, it would have been “Moment 4 Life,” with Young Money labelmate Drake along for the ride. However, it would turn out to be Pink Friday bonus track “Super Bass” that rocked my world. Nicki showed in 2011 that you could be pop AND street on the same album, and she did that on her own terms. Like Drake, Nicki cultivates a persona that can’t be fully pinned down, and she ruled the sales and airplay charts as a result. The hook alone was worth the price of admission, but it was her playful rap delivery that sealed the deal.

4. Disco Moment/Bright Light Bright Light (Not Charted) – The slow trudge to 2012 and a full-length Bright Light Bright Light record seemed a little bit closer in 2011, thanks to the single release of “Disco Moment.” In fact, my favorite piece of mail this year was the envelope that contained the autographed single. Rod Thomas’s tale of confronting the end of a relationship conveyed both the angst and the relief of a toxic situation coming to a close. If you’re looking for an heir to the Pet Shop Boys’ place in pop and dance music, allow me to suggest Bright Light Bright Light.

3. Pumped Up Kicks/Foster the People (US #3) – A confession: I didn’t give Foster the People much attention initially because I felt they fit into the hipster group of the moment, but after hearing “Pumped Up Kicks” a couple of times, I quickly changed my mind. The song was worked to Alternative radio in 2010, but 2011 was when the track blew up at pop radio and battled for song of the summer against lesser singles. How a song that sounds happy and perky on the surface but talks about gun violence underneath the surface became a Top Five hit, I have no idea, but I’m not mad about it.

2. Take Care/Drake feat Rihanna (US #9 to date) – I spent much of 2011 waiting for Drake to leak his next track for the world to peruse, and I was rarely disappointed. The problem with hearing samples that you love from an upcoming album is that you are probably going to be disappointed with the remaining tracks not worthy of leaking. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case with Take Care, which debuted at #1 on the album chart. Just prior to the release, Drake and Nicki Minaj performed “Make Me Proud” on Saturday Night Live, which the song went Top 10 the next week. In any other situation that song would have made my year-end list, but then Take Care was released, and Drake’s duet with Rihanna on the title cut blew me away. To this day I am amazed that Drake gets away with these downright dance pop tracks and still keeps his street cred, but I hope he keeps doing it. “Take Care” is just a piano and bass thump away from being a House anthem, and all I wanted for Christmas was a fully-realized House remix. Check out Mike Irish’s remix if you want an idea of what I’m talking about, but if anyone knows Frankie Knuckles, please pass on my request.

1. Set Fire to the Rain/Adele (US #7 to date) – In an album full of classics, it was hard to pick just one song to include, but since she technically only released three singles in 2011 (“Someone Like You” and “Rumour Has It” were the other two), I didn’t have to deliberate too hard. Although “Someone” turned into a massive hit and “Rumour” held a couple of radio formats over in between official singles, “Set Fire to the Rain” sounded unique and fresh on the radio when it hit the US airwaves in November. For my money, it’s the most powerful and passionate performance from 21, and deserves to be as big a hit as “Someone Like You.”

Gonna Wish I Had a Storm Warning

Posted by John on December 27, 2011
Posted in: new artist, new releases, youtube. Tagged: , , , . 3 Comments

Okay…first, watch the video below. We’ll discuss it on the other side:

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about Hunter Hayes, whose above-viewed “Storm Warning” recently hit the Top 20 of the Billboard Country Songs chart with a bullet. The angle that many music journalists are taking to discuss Hayes is to talk about how, at only twenty years of age, he has co-written every song, played every instrument, and sang every note on every song of his album. Great achievement, and definitely worth mentioning. However, if it’s on Pop Music Notes, you know we’re going to talk about the pop quotient.

Back in the 1990s, there was a country singer named Bryan White who played country music with a pop sensibility and scored a few number one records. While the ladies of country music were scaling the pop charts, Bryan got left behind, and eventually the country hits dried up. His one claim to pop music fame was singing the male part on Shania Twain’s 1998 smash “From This Moment On,” but he was edited out of the pop edits of the song. No respect! Check out “Love is the Right Place” from 1997 and hopefully you’ll hear the same similarities with “Storm Warning” that I do:

Just about the time that Bryan’s career was winding down, a group called Rascal Flatts got going in a big way. Their debut self-titled disc came out in 2000 as I was preparing for my move to Colorado, and “I’m Moving On” saw me off as I drove out of Atlanta on my way to Denver the following year. Rascal Flatts have had some crossover success (“Life is a Highway,” “What Hurts the Most,” “Bless the Broken Road”), but for the most part they are still considered a country group. However, recent collaborations with Justin Bieber and Natasha Bedingfield haven’t helped the perception among some country fans that they are just a pop band with a fiddle and a steel guitar in the back of the closet.

So back to Hunter Hayes, who released his self-titled major-label debut in November 2011 and is preparing to hit the road in 2012 opening for Rascal Flatts. The album is a solid effort, although it is a bit generic in spots. For me, the big concern is that I don’t see or hear an individual voice emerging. Then again, the guy is only 20, and has plenty of time to grow into his own perspective. There’s a strong foundation on this album, and hopefully it does well enough to afford him the opportunity to record a follow-up that lets Hunter show through instead of his influences.

Why Teena Marie Matters

Posted by John on December 26, 2011
Posted in: commentary, death, personal, Uncategorized. 12 Comments

Today marks the one year anniversary of Teena Marie’s passing. When I heard about her death (via Twitter, like we do), I was stunned. Even thought she hadn’t had a hit in a few years, she was still releasing albums and touring, and I easily could have imagined her becoming the grand dame of R&B. Leaving this world as soon as she did should not have even been an option.

For those of you who don’t know, Teena was not only a white woman who found success singing R&B, she was also a pioneer in the business, inadvertently leading the charge on how artist contracts were drawn up and how artists were paid. While that in itself is something to be proud of, I would be surprised if that’s a victory she would have even claimed. From the way she chased down a recording contract to the innovative way her career laid itself out, Teena Marie was no one’s puppet. She was her own woman, and even when being molded by a producer and writer as strong-willed as Rick James, her power never flagged. In fact, James was gasoline to Marie’s flame, and there is no stronger proof of this than their duet “Fire and Desire” from his 1981 album Street Songs. The clip below is a rare video of the two of them in their prime performing “Fire” live, and the passion between those two fiery souls must have been amazing to witness live:

While I knew the music that Teena Marie was making in the early 80s, it wasn’t until 1984’s Starchild with the #4 pop hit “Lovergirl” that my attention was fully captured. Starchild hit high rotation on my tape deck, but it was “Out on a Limb” that quickly became my jam. I was 15 years old, but somehow this woman’s ode to an amazing love resonated with me. We speak about “the best” this and that, but for me, “Out on a Limb” is one of the greatest R&B ballads of the past 50 years. It was timely and timeless, all at the same time, and Teena’s delivery elevated it above just a solid song into a blueprint of how you sing a ballad. Singers like Shirley Murdock owe Teena Marie a great debt for utilizing her influence in making their own hit records. While the song was not a hit at the time, it quickly became a Quiet Storm staple on R&B stations across the US.

Surprisingly, some of Teena Marie’s most enduring songs were never hits. Along with “Out on a Limb” is “Deja Vu (I’ve Been Here Before),” a song that appeared on her first album Wild and Peaceful. Despite it never being a single, it is a signature Teena Marie track that remained a favorite at her concerts up until her death last year. You would never know that the song was written by Rick James by the way she sang it because the conviction of her delivery made it her own from the opening lines: “I’m young and I’m old/I’m rich and I’m poor/I feel like I’ve been on this Earth many times before.” [Update: if you check the comments, you’ll see that Teena revised her opinion on who wrote “Deja Vu.”]

No matter what adversity or challenges she experienced in her life, it was clear that music was her passion instead of her job and nothing would deter her from sharing it with the world. We should all be that lucky. Rest in peace, Lady Tee. Your memory and your music lives on.